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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. stock — goods
  4. charge — a price
  5. squash — to crush
  6. bound — tied together
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. bound — certain
  9. pit — in a race
  10. cold — an illness
  11. pit — a hole
  12. stock — shares
  13. charge — electricity
  14. bound — obliged
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. chip — for betting
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. chip — to eat
  21. squash — the sport
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. charge — in control
  24. cold — the Cold War

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com